The following cases are selected examples of unlawful and abusive prosecutions and detentions. DAWN case files include extensive factual information about the background of detainees and comprehensive details regarding their arrest, charges, trial (if any), hearings, witnesses (if any), evidence (if any), sentencing (if any), detention conditions, and family retaliation by the government.
Detainees represent a cross-section of society, including not only human rights activists, but also businesspeople, former government officials, and elite members of society.
We include information about the police, intelligence agents, prosecutors, judges, jailers, and other government officials involved in these prosecutions, where available. Our information is gathered primarily from direct communication with the detainee and his/her representatives or associates, but also relies on reports and articles prepared by other organizations and individuals that we deem reliable.
The information provided is intended to provide journalists, researchers, policy experts, and the general public with a comprehensive account of the detainee's experience in X country's justice system. We will update case files as new developments emerge.
This week we learned that Jared Kushner's notorious investment fund, Affinity Partners, made an absolute killing on its investment in...
Read moreDetailsOn Aug. 10, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi approved a proposal to issue a new debt instrument dubbed the "Taxation...
Read moreDetailsSudan's brutal civil war continues with no end in sight in its fourth year, largely due to the negative role...
Read moreDetails(Washington, D.C., October 9, 2026) – In response to the Trump administration's imposition of new institutional sanctions against the entire...
Read moreDetails(Washington, D.C., September 18, 2026) - Jordanian authorities should immediately drop all charges against American journalist Ali Younes, who also...
Read moreDetailsNo tyrant can implement tyranny against an entire country on his own. He needs enablers who will implement his oppressive practices, even if it means abusing their fellow citizens. These agents often work in the shadows, where they mask their complicity in the guise of professionals exercising their duties in offices, courtrooms, police stations, and interrogation rooms.
Some of these state agents go to great lengths to hide their identities even where domestic law requires disclosure, including by assuming fictitious identities. Sometimes this is justified in the name of protecting their security, but in many cases, they seek to conceal their abusive functions to avoid public shaming, particularly among colleagues or friends who believe them to be respectable officials.
